News

June 2015 36-inch Main Break in Dunbar

We know the recent water main break in the Dunbar area caused hardship to many of our customers. We are truly sorry. Our experienced repair crews called this the most complicated break they had ever worked on, and they didn’t quit until it was finally fixed. We don’t ever want our customers to go without water. Our goal is to deliver exceptional water and customer service every single day. There is nothing more important to our company. We will continue the important conversation about our water system, our investment and our plans for improvements. Here are responses to the questions most frequently asked during and immediately following this event.

West Virginia American Water Notes Recently Completed National Toxicology Program Studies on Elk River Chemical Spill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (June 17, 2015) – The National Toxicology Program (NTP) released a report yesterday conveying the results of a series of toxicity studies it conducted over the past year to evaluate chemicals spilled into the Elk River last January. West Virginia American Water encourages its Kanawha Valley customers to review this information, which Dr. Rahul Gupta, Commissioner for the Bureau for Public Health and State Health Officer, characterized as “good and reassuring news for West Virginia residents who reside in the affected communities” in a press release issued yesterday by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR).

As noted by Dr. Gupta, the NTP’s report indicates that West Virginia took appropriate public health measures during the 2014 Elk River chemical spill and supports the adequacy of the drinking water advisory levels established at the time of the spill, which West Virginia American Water relied on in restoring full water service.

“All together, the NTP findings support the adequacy of the drinking water advisory levels established at the time of the spill,” said John Bucher, Ph.D., NTP Associate Director. “The results identified an opportunity to evaluate a potential health effect in the affected communities. NTP used a comprehensive suite of state-of-the-art toxicology tools to look at the spilled chemicals, and found very little reason for concern about long-term health effects.”

NTP is a federal, interagency program, headquartered at the NIEHS, whose goal is to safeguard the public by identifying substances in the environment that may affect human health. For more information about NTP and its programs, visit http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/. For more information specific to the West Virginia chemical spill studies, visit http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/wvspill